


Diurnal & Crepuscular

by Ghoulboyboos



Series: Lovebirds and Serpentines [2]
Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Bird Hybrid, Fluff, Going on Location, Hybrid AU, Hybrids, M/M, Relationship Growth, Snake Hybrid, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-06-28 06:49:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15702042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghoulboyboos/pseuds/Ghoulboyboos
Summary: They are slow and careful with were they are going. Neither of them are jealously hiding their relationship away, but the way they transitioned from year-long friends to boyfriends is something just between them and they figure, they should allow themselves some time to adjust to the new situation. Each new step is unfamiliar and exciting and if they can, they prefer to talk it out with the other beforehand. Which is why Shane carefully and slowly asks one night:“Maybe we should start thinking about telling others. Not everyone at once, just the people closest to us. What do you think?”Look at this beautiful piece by gober-mouch my friend requested <3 Casual Hybrid Boys





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A continuation of my Hybrid AU! ...hope some people wanted this because I sure did.
> 
> The title comes from two animal activity terms. Diurnal animals are active during the day and sleep during the night. Crepuscular animals are active during dusk and dawn, i.e. in twilight hours.
> 
> This chapter starts slow but there will be more fluff and couple stuff and even an "adventure" on location soon!

“What do you think?”

 

Shane has Ryan in his arms and it’s one of the most amazing feelings in the entire world. He learned relatively early in their shared experience of Unsolved during the nights they slept on location, that Avians prefer to sleep on their stomach, often curled over or around a body pillow. It gave their wings space to flex during the night and helped with back problems that would often come from their wings not getting the necessary exercise. Since they started dating, they often slept in the same bed and Ryan would throw himself on top of Shane’s chest, stretch out his wings to cover them both with silken feathers and fall asleep with the softest of snores. Shane usually had trouble falling asleep afterwards. He much rather stays awake and looks at the beautiful man on top of him, still a little stunned that Ryan wants to be with him. Eventually, he carefully curls his lower body around them and without fail, when his tail settles against Ryan’s back, his boyfriend cuddles closer to him and relaxes in his sleep. Those secret moments after the sun goes down are when Shane allows himself to think about how lucky he is to love Ryan and experience what it was like to be loved back by him. It’s a cheesy thought and he couldn’t put it into words if he tried. But he feels happy. Happy when he finally falls asleep next to Ryan and happy when they wake up next to one another.

 

They settle into the change to their relationship relatively quickly. Ryan stayed over the night they confessed to each other and after that, they rarely spend a day where they don’t sleep together. Sleep in the same bed, that is. Sex isn’t really a topic either of them dare to breach yet, but just lying next to Ryan and knowing that it will be fine if he reaches out and hugs him is a development Shane had never dared to hope would happen. But it did happen. Ryan brings over some of his clothes, more than the single set of emergency stuff he stashed there already and Shane returns the gesture soon, leaving some of his stuff in Ryan’s apartment. They are slow and careful with were they are going. Neither of them are jealously hiding their relationship away, but the way they transitioned from year-long friends to boyfriends is something just between them and they figure, they should allow themselves some time to adjust to the new situation. Each new step is unfamiliar and exciting and if they can, they prefer to talk it out with the other beforehand. Which is why Shane carefully and slowly asks one night:

 

“Maybe we should start thinking about telling others. Not everyone at once, just the people closest to us. What do you think?”

Ryan’s eyes are open and he is clearly awake, but for a minute or two, he doesn’t answer. His fingers trace patterns on Shane’s chest and he stares ahead, clearly lost in thoughts. Shane wouldn’t mind if Ryan wasn’t ready. Sure, he can imagine holding Ryan’s hand when he gets scared on location, but if Ryan would rather keep all of their relationship private, he understands. Shane isn’t exactly urging to drag everything about them into the open. However, he would like to tell their close friends, would like to tell his family and maybe a couple of colleagues they saw every day at Buzzfeed. Because Ryan makes him happy. Part of him wants to tell the entire world how truly happy Ryan makes him.

 

“Yeah,” Ryan says finally. “I want to. It’s not...” He huffs and pushes himself up on his arms above Shane. He is chewing his bottom lip in thought, clearly trying to figure out what to say.

“I’m not worried about our friends. I’m not worried about our colleagues. HR will just nod and make us sign some papers that we don’t mess up anything. And, shit, I don’t even think I’m worried about the fans. It’s not like we have a big following that would have a problem with that…”

 

Shane brings up a hand and runs it through Ryan’s hair. Ryan hasn’t used product this morning and the feathers in between his hairs are so soft to the touch. His boyfriend half closes his eyes and hums as Shane pets his hair.

 

“I guess I’m a bit scared of telling my family. And your family.”

 

Shane pauses, trying to read Ryan’s expression.

“Well...” He starts slowly. “My parents are pretty modern and open people. They know I’m bi and never seemed to mind and they’re mixed-hybrid so that shouldn’t be a deal breaker.”

Shane chuckles. His Serpentine traits come from his mother’s side, with his father being Mammalian.

Ryan hums and looks at Shane, still worried.

“What about mixed-race couples?”

Shane scoffs.

“I can’t imagine- Hm.” He pauses and frowns. Shane has been out to his parents for a while and he is pretty sure his parents have no lingering queerphobia to deal with. He can’t imagine his parents having a problem with him bringing a guy home who isn’t white, but then again, the topic has never really come up and he also doesn’t want to dismiss Ryan’s worries.

 

“Listen...” He leans up a little and while his tail wraps around Ryan’s ankle, Shane takes one of Ryan’s hands in both of his and kisses the fingers.

“If, for some ridiculous reason, they do have a problem with the two of us dating, I’ll handle it. You’re my partner, I _want_ to be with you. If they have a problem with it, it will be their problem. Okay?”

Ryan doesn’t really look happy.  
“Shane… don’t break family ties because of me.”

Shane scoffs.

“If they really end up telling me we shouldn’t be together then they are the ones breaking the ties, okay? And for the record, I doubt that will happen. My parents are… pretty cool with a lot of things.”

 

Ryan sighs.

“Mine are great parents but… man, I’m just so worried they could not like you. Or not approve of you.”

“Excuse me? I’m a fucking delight. Parents _love_ me!”

When Ryan only smiles a little and doesn’t laugh, Shane softens and reaches out to pet his hair again.

“Listen, I’ll show myself from my best side and we’ll see what happens, okay?”

“Okay...”

 

-

 

In the end, Ryan had no reason to worry. Shane facetimes his family back in Illinois and they are delighted to hear that he is dating. The surprise about it being _Ryan_ isn’t because of any of the things Ryan had fussed about, they are simply stunned that they spend such a long time pining after one another without realizing. Shane’s mother is quick to invite Ryan to Thanksgiving if he doesn’t have other plans and Shane’s dad is wheezing very much like Shane when she trails off into making plans for dinner adjustments with an Avian guest. Ryan flushes at her enthusiasm and tries to tell her not to worry and that she really doesn’t have to bother, but Shane nudges him slightly and whispers that all his objections will not be listened to. His mother loves cooking for others and she seems to have already adopted Ryan as part of the family. At that comment, Ryan has to swallow hard and he ducks behind Shane out of the view of the camera to wipe at his eyes. Shane finally manages to cut his mother off, politely of course and says his “love you’s” to both of them. His parents wave excitedly into the camera and Shane laughs as he catches Ryan in the camera view, waving back sheepishly. Shane hangs up and pulls Ryan in his arms afterwards and kisses him and tangles a hand in Ryan’s wing and everything is alright.

 

Ryan is high-strung the entire day he decides to call his parents on Skype and Shane is a bit worried as always, telling him that he doesn’t have to talk about them dating if he doesn’t want to. Ryan is determined, though.

 

“They’re my parents, Shane. I want them to know that their son is happy.”

 

Shane’s heart swells at that and so he pushes up on the couch next to Ryan, with Ryan’s laptop on the table in front of him. Shane is holding his hand while he’s still sitting out of frame, their joined fingers hidden under the couch table. Ryan is catching up and asking about how both his mum and dad are doing, if his brother called and so on. Shane is sitting close by, listening to the mix of English and Spanish with bits of Japanese sprinkled in there and he squeezes Ryan’s hand every time Ryan starts to falter a bit. Finally, Ryan takes a deep breath.

 

“There’s a reason I called actually. Uh. I’m seeing someone right now.”

 

After his parents’ cheers die down a little Ryan starts to fidget and cough and tries a couple of times to continue but he seizes up. Shane rubs his thumb over his boyfriend’s hand, trying to give him strength and he really isn’t prepared when Ryan suddenly pulls his arm close and reaches out for Shane. An arm wraps around his middle and pulls him on the couch next to Ryan and in front of the camera. Shane settles next to him and sees Ryan’s face redden, sees Ryan’s parents perk up in surprise in the video and he reaches out and places a hand on Ryan’s back, right between wings. He hopes his touch will be reassuring and supportive and his stomach tingles as Ryan wraps a wing around Shane’s shoulders.

 

“You guys remember Shane?”

 

It does end in tears, but they are all happy. Ryan’s mother seems only upset that she can’t hug them and his father mirrors Ryan and wraps his wing around his wife as he comforts her softly. He smiles at Shane through the camera and Shane feels himself well up, too, so to stop the waterworks they all wave goodbye quickly and end the call and Shane can finally drop his head on Ryan’s lap and allows him to cradle it.

 

It’s what he wants now, to relax in Ryan’s arms and let the tension he had been feeling disperse. He pulls up completely on the sofa and starts to wrap himself around Ryan in loose coils, trying to get as much contact with him as possible. The tips of Ryan’s wings brush the back of his tail and he shivers at the soft tickle. Ryan’s hands pet his hair and his eyes flutter shut at the touch. Sometimes he wonders how Ryan can like his hair so much. Ryan’s hair is soft and silken with the little feathers in between, two longer contour feathers behind each ear and soft plumes all through and through and it feels lovely. Shane’s hair is boring and hard to control sometimes. It stands up when he sleeps on it funny and sometimes it’s a little dry. But Ryan loves petting Shane’s hair, had even done it before they got together and it always calms Shane down and makes him want to fall asleep. He wraps his arms around Ryan’s waist and brings his hands up to twine his fingers in the feathers at the base of Ryan’s wings. That makes Ryan’s breath above him hitch, so Shane moves more carefully and cards his fingers in to massage the wing underneath where he feels skin and muscle and bone underneath fluffy plumage. He drags them up, combing through the long flight feathers, strong between his fingers and able to carry Ryan in the air and Shane loves watching him fly. His touches trail up until he reaches the coverts. He has read a lot about wings lately, about how to care for them and what non-Avians should watch out for when touching them. His fingertips slip under the smaller contour feathers and Ryan stiffens underneath him. The hand in his hair clenches a little and Shane looks up.

 

“Is that okay?”

Ryan bites his bottom lip and nods.

“It’s just...” He huffs out a soft sigh as Shane makes a scratching motion and Shane freezes.

“It’s… intimate.” Ryan swallows.

Shane doesn’t dare to move.

“Should I stop?”

Ryan’s wings twitch in his hands.

“I don’t know...”

Shane hesitates for a moment but then he carefully disentangles his fingers from Ryan’s wings, moving a bit further up to run his palm over the stiffer flight feathers and Ryan breathes out slowly. He relaxes again and continues to pet his hair. Shane smiles up at him, allowing himself to push the thought of Ryan reacting to his touch like that out of his mind. They cuddle on the sofa for a while, content with just relaxing together before Ryan leans over Shane to reach for the laptop and switches to Netflix for some evening entertainment.

Shane snuggles in his lap and smiles, keeping his touches to Ryan’s wings soft and not too invasive. Ryan seems to notice. He touches Shane’s cheek and smiles down at him. One of his wings drapes over Shane’s hip.

“Another time… Definitely another time, Shane. Sorry.”

Shane turns a little and presses a kiss to Ryan’s stomach.

“No reason to apologize, babe.”

 

-

 

The pressure of telling their family is off their shoulders and it’s almost as if they pulled the plug on bottled up emotions there. Telling their friends and coworkers sounds suddenly much easier and while they decide to keep it off camera for now, they know that they should tell HR first, and then maybe the main crew they work with.

 

HR is simple and to the point, as expected, although they do get congratulated by Melissa who gives them a happy smile.

“I’m just glad you didn’t come here to ask if you can ask invasive questions for a video. But I am also happy that you two found each other.”

They mutter their thanks, both suddenly shy as they go through the papers asking them more or less to keep making their decisions with a level head and not their junk, which is a lot dryer in lawyer terms and not funny at all. But it feels oddly official signing off their relationship at work and Shane shares a little smile with Ryan as he puts his signature down.

 

Afterwards, they stand in front of HR and stare at each other.

“So… should we like, tell people during lunch break or something?” Shane asks, not really convinced.

Ryan clears his throat.

“How about we do it in private situations? I’d rather say this over drinks with colleagues than in the middle of the work day.”

Shane nods.

“Yeah, I’d like that better.”

Ryan stands there for a moment as if unsure what to say.

“Maybe… we should go back to work.”

Shane chuckles and takes Ryan’s hand for a moment to squeeze it, before letting go again.

“Yeah. Let’s go back to work.”

 

-

 

They don’t really get a chance to go out with coworkers that week. It’s a new season and Unsolved is calling them to a new location.

 

Ryan seems nervous and pumped at the same time, which is always a good sign.

Shane can’t wait.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shane spits out toothpaste next to him and for a moment it’s quiet before-
> 
> “Whoah.”  
> Ryan looks over at Shane. His boyfriend has pushed upwards on quite a bit of his tail, making him even taller and he is staring upwards, open mouthed. Ryan looks up.  
> “Oh.”
> 
> Whoah describes the sight surprisingly well. Above them, in the pitch black night sky there are thousands- no, millions of stars, stretching across the entire sky like a blanket that covers the whole world. He can see clusters and the shimmer of the milky way and he feels that the toothpaste is dribbling out of the corner of his mouth from staring. He wipes it away, tears his eyes off the stars for a second to spit it out before he looks up again.
> 
> Ryan has no clue about stars, but what he is seeing right now is beautiful, far away from the light pollution of the big cities so much more is visible. It fills him with calm, douses the flames of anxiety and lets him take everything in. It’s so beautiful.
> 
> As embarrassing as it is, the word beautiful brings his thoughts back to Shane and he looks over only to see that Shane is staring at him. They smile at each other, shyly.
> 
> “This is amazing.” Shane whispers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter switches the POV from Shane to Ryan, hope that’s not too confusing <3\. Thanks for all your sweet comments and support. You guys give me the energy to write and the confidence to like what I’m doing. Can’t thank you enough!

Ryan is driving. It’s hard keeping his eyes off of Shane, who is currently lounging in the back seat and checking their equipment piece by piece. He tested the batteries three times and under normal circumstances, that would be annoying, but with the track record they had with flashlights suddenly turning off, it’s reasonable. It’s even endearing, because Shane knows how Ryan’s heartbeat picks up and his hands start to shake when his flashlight suddenly turns off and he has openly told Ryan before that he wants to save him the extra stress. He hasn’t even made a quip about Ryan being scared of his own shadow or the wind or something this time and Ryan feels… loved. For the lack of a better term, Shane always manages to make him feel loved. Even when he makes fun of his beliefs or his height or whatever, Shane never turns teasing into bullying, he always seems to look out for Ryan. Maybe that’s why Ryan isn’t freaking out _yet_.  Maybe it’s because Shane is idly humming a song in the background, body and tail curled on the back seat with half their equipment balanced on him. The GoPro rigs hang off the tip of his tail and sway slightly, because they have hit a sparsely paved road a quarter of an hour ago. Shane catches Ryan looking at one point and smiles at him, holding up the spirit box.

 

“You don’t know how much self-control I have to bring up to not toss this thing out of the window.”

Ryan bristles, wings straining against the back of his seat. Shane seems to notice, because he snorts and  _carefully_ puts the device down.

“Alright, alright. Don’t worry, babe, I’ll keep your toy.”

Ryan scoffs, taking a bit of offense at “toy”, but Shane using a pet name soothes him a little.

“It’s not a toy.” He says, for terminology’s sake, but he doesn’t sound as pissed as he has expected.

A hand brushes over his feathers, soothing his tense muscles in the wings he had to keep close to himself during driving. Ryan has become a lot more relaxed with Shane touching his wings. It’s intimate, yes, but this is  _Shane_ and he knows Shane is only touching his wings when he tries to soothe Ryan’s senses. Oddly enough, it helps.

 

Ryan feels his hands unclench  from the steering wheel a little. He slows down and glances at Shane again, the image in the rear-view mirror making his heart skip a beat.

Shane is looking at him with deep affection, one hand soothing his wing while the other is holding onto Ryan’s headrest. He is smiling softly, not meeting Ryan’s eyes in the mirror but rather looking at Ryan. His eyes are full of affection.

 

Ryan swallows hard.

“We’re almost there.”

“Okay.”

Shane settles back and Ryan almost misses the contact.

“Let’s blow this joint!”

Ryan just snorts and doesn’t comment.

 

-

 

Mark Celestino looks up from behind the camera and up the outside of the haunted house when Ryan and Shane pull up at the location. He must have been filming shots to show off the house for the episode, because the tripod is pointing the camera at the front door and he is taking a slow pan up.

The house looks pretty abandoned. Paint is peeling off the front, the former red painted shutters are barely more than a muddy brown now. It’s large and imposing. There is no glass in the windows and Ryan doubts there ever was. Avian-built houses prefer the loft style to just pop in and out through the walls. He himself isn’t exactly a big fan of it. In L.A., houses are just too damn tall and striking the perfect landing when the sun is hitting your eyes and air traffic is going on is just too much of a hassle. He loves flying but he prefers balconies or other landing spots over throwing yourself through a window any day.

He gets out and walks over to greet the crew, while Shane pushes himself off the back seat and grabs most of their equipment. When Ryan walks over, Mark straightens up from where he had been bent behind his camera.

 

“Hey Mark. How’s the wing?”

Mark looks to his left and flexes the wing still wrapped in the sling. He’s been earthbound for two weeks now. “Absolutely no flying” his doctor had said and Ryan shudders at the thought. Mark had injured himself while bouldering and he was lucky he didn’t break anything.

“Still at least a week to go,” Mark sighs.

“Looks like you’re using the ramp with the big guy today.”

The only response is a grumble and Ryan snorts, nudging the cameraman in the side with his wing.

“Chin up, it’ll heal.”

 

Shane comes up with the bags with their equipment and Ryan feels his heart flip when he reaches out to help and their fingers brush. He is so smitten, it’s borderline stupid, but Shane’s smile is sweet and happy so maybe Ryan isn’t alone with that feeling.

 

TJ and Mark set up the equipment they need while Shane and Ryan gear up. The house doesn’t have electricity anymore, so their flashlights are going to be essential gear. Devon drags a large rolling case out of the crew’s van and pulls it over to the side of the building. Right, the ramp. Ryan is so glad Buzzfeed has a couple of them and is willing to lend one to Unsolved, because otherwise, half the team including Shane would have to hang out on the first floor and Ryan is _definitely not_ checking out the kids’ rooms all by himself. TJ could probably climb up, Simians were better climbers in general, but that was still a risk in this old house and for the sake of workplace safety, the ramp was the better decision.

 

After they are all ready, Ryan decides to be a little braver and swings himself into the air, landing on the porch roof above the main entrance. He glimpses in the windows, camera on his chest recording the dusty old rooms and he already feels the pressure of some negative energies in the base of his stomach. He could tell Shane, but Shane would laugh. Even though Shane admitted during the pre-location discussion that the place wasn’t exactly a happy family home. Local theories say the father of the family of four got possessed by a demon and was often seen sleepwalking or even flying at night. He would eventually forbid his wife and kids to leave the house altogether and Ryan can still see the indents of nails in the outside walls where boards had been put to cover the windows. He makes sure to get evidence of that.

 

“Oh God.” He mutters as he films the holes in the wall with his camera. “I hate this already, this is terrible.”

“What’s up there, Ryan?” Shane calls from downstairs. Ryan can practically see how Mark pans the camera from Shane’s face up to where Ryan is standing as both of them wait for a reply. Ryan looks down. TJ is standing behind Shane and Mark, a bunch of equipment in bags strapped to him and he’s holding the boom-mike as high as he can.

Ryan clears his throat.

“Just a lot of empty rooms, but … shit I can see where they nailed the window shut, that’s really fucking creepy.”

Shane laughs softly and Ryan wants to kick him in the side.

“What, a little home improvement scares you already?”

“Do you even know how messed up it is for Avians to nail their windows shut?”

“Yeah I get that but it’s not like this stuff can hurt you! The _Demon_ didn’t do that.”

His tone shows that he doesn’t believe in the theory about the demon posession at all.

“You don’t know that!” Ryan shouts back, but he can’t help it, Shane dismissing actions from the past as not dangerous helps and he feels a tiny bit more at ease. Ryan flaps his wings once, twice and sails down again, landing next to the others.

Shane is smiling as he lands next to him and for a moment he looks like he wants to reach out and hold Ryan’s hand, but he stops himself and scratches his nose.

“Let’s check out the inside!” He says instead and Ryan is caught between really wanting to get behind the mysteries of this place and really not wanting to enter it. Shane seems to notice.

“You can go in through the windows if you want...”

“No.” Ryan says firmly. “Let’s just get this over with.” He inches closer to Shane while Mark and TJ are busy recording the atmosphere of the house. “I want to brave this with you by my side...” he whispers and Shane stops and looks over at Ryan. They stare at each other for a moment, faces warm and not quite flushed with red and Ryan feels a tiny smile tug on the corners of his mouth.

 

“Okay.” Shane mutters back and he curls his tail in a half-circle around the spot where Ryan is standing as if putting a barrier between him and anything Ryan is scared of.

Ryan reaches out and their fingers brush for a second before they get back into ghost-hunter mode and enters the house.

 

-

 

He will record the whole story later for the episode, but he still shares some info with the others. The house has been build in 1921, by Mr. Borgen and his wife, who at that time were expecting their first child. The daughter, Helena was soon joined by a little brother named Bertie. All in all, they seemed a happy, normal family of Avians, if a little reclusive. They grew most of the produce they needed themselves and only rarely made their way to the closest town for other shopping. Locals talked about Mr. Borgen’s interests in the occult and there are multiple witnesses that speak of his fascinations with summoning demons for power. Multiple seances were said to have taken place in the Borgen family house and people living close by preferred to stay away from them. Mrs. Borgen was said to come to town occasionally, but she rarely talked more than what was necessary. The children were home-schooled and rarely left the home. Avian neighbors are known to be very outgoing and while Ryan knows it’s a bit of a cliche, it’s rooted in truth. You can’t just go for random flights at random times. If your neighbor sees you drop out of your window, they might have a heart attack if they don’t know your wings are functional. Not every Avian is able to fly, so non-Avians sometimes get a bit nervous. Ryan has chatted with his neighbors and mentioned he would occasionally fly to work, usually by using the roof as a platform. It was just common courtesy to let them know. But the Borgen’s never talked to their neighbors. It was weird and felt wrong and it made Ryan uncomfortable.

 

The kitchen seems cold and hostile and while Shane didn’t seem to feel it, he still curls the tip of his tail around Ryan’s ankle when they hear distant creaks as an answer to the question if someone in the family was ready to talk. It’s a steadying touch and it helps. Ryan would never admit it out loud, but going by Shane’s smirk, the other man knew.

Ryan steels himself.

 

“Let’s get this over with. We should check out the bedroom of the parents… so you can do your bullshit.”

Shane chuckles.

“Sure. After you, little guy.”

 

-

 

Shane is “hanging out” in the master bedroom, talking loudly to the demon that possessed Mr. Borgen and asking it if it wants to take a ride in the “ol’ Madej vehicle” or maybe smack some people around. Ryan makes a face at the camera Mark’s holding because everyone knows how much he hates that. Still, it’s Shane’s way of dealing with demons and Ryan would be lying if he said it didn’t put him at ease at least a little bit. As long as Shane is joking and teasing, things are okay. He feels surprisingly safe like that. Still, Ryan has to distract himself before he thinks too much about Shane being possessed and attacking them. He steps out of the camera view and leans closer to Mark, tone conspiratorial.

 

“Weird question but: Are you scared of Shane?”

Mark snorts, lowering the camera.

“Are you asking if I’m afraid of him or if I’m afraid a demon is going to hitchhike on his back and murder us?”

Ryan makes an extra repulsed face at that and glowers at Mark.

“I’m serious. When you met Shane, were you afraid? Because he’s Serpentine?”

Mark seems taken aback by the question, mouth opening and closing for a couple of moments while he is thinking.

“Uh. ‘Afraid’ is a bit much. I guess I was a bit uncomfortable? I never worked with Serpentine’s before and some people tell the weirdest shit. Not that I believe that. But I guess it was part of the combination? Like, Ryan, he’s also a tall, white guy. Once I found out he is a dork and super chill and friendly, it was fine. But I guess at the beginning I wasn’t sure about him.”

“Huh.”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because he said I was one of the few Avians who was never afraid of him. Not even in the beginning.”

Mark winces.

“I didn’t realize he would notice. Now I feel bad.”

Ryan nudges him slightly.

“Don’t be. He knows it’s instinct. Makes us do stupid shit sometimes.”

 

-

 

Ryan remembers a day where work had been just a little too much on Shane and when Ryan had come over to Shane’s apartment later that evening just to find his boyfriend in the bedroom, curled up under the bed and hidden so well that Ryan wouldn’t even have found him if Shane hadn’t called out to him. Sometimes Shane needs to hide away in the dark to de-stress. Ryan would go on long flights if he found himself in the same situation, seeking freedom and space where Shane needed to be covered and contained. Everyone struggled with instinct, whether they medicated or not and Ryan had always trouble with that type of medication. So _what_ if they had to take a time-out once in a while. They understood each other. And Ryan was pretty sure that Shane understood it when others got a little jumpy around him. Still, Ryan loved the big guy and he knew many adored Shane for being that big, lovable, intelligent goofball who just wanted to make people happy. Which is probably why Mark felt so bad about this.

 

“Don’t tell Shane that, okay?” The cameraman looks a bit mortified. “It’s not his fault.”

“Don’t worry about it. I was just… curious. I never thought about it but I heard some weird things as a kid as well.”

Mark shrugs.

“Everyone is biased. My best friend is Feline and she definitely doesn’t try to murder me in my sleep. Which is what some people said she would do.”

Ryan shakes his head.

“That’s some real bullshit. I mean take this place.” He makes a wide gesture towards the house around them. “All of them were Avians and still there was murdering and hurting each other. Demon or not, that shit happens daily and I doubt it’s all instinct.”

“Yep.”

Mark glances at his watch.

“I think we can get Shane now. Enough demon taunting.”

Ryan groans.

“That means I go next. _A_ _wesome_.”

Mark turns the camera back on and Ryan can swear he is grinning.

 

-

 

“So...” Ryan starts, pointing the flashlight at the ceiling. An old chandelier hangs on a spider web covered chain and the metal is so dim, it barely reflects the light.

“This is the main living room. And this is the place where the old Borgen is said to have murdered his wife and daughter...”

Shane is clearly upset at the story that happened there. He doesn’t believe in the demons, but Ryan can see that the whole “dude murders his family” doesn’t sit right with his boyfriend. Maybe he should keep it short.

He turns on the spirit box and ignores Shane’s over the top wince. He clears his throat.

“Hello, out there, I’m Ryan. This is Shane.”

“Hellooo...”

Shane sounds not very enthusiastic and Ryan is ready to ignore it.

“Is any member of the Borgen family here who would want to talk with us? You could say out names back, so we know you’re there?”

For a while, all they get is jumping white noise.

“Alright.” Ryan clears his throat.

“Maybe Mr. Borgen is here? Did something happen in this home? Did something possess you? Maybe you played with things you didn’t know could backfire that much? Were you possessed by a demon?”

More static. Then:

“….chrz-idn’t- shh- -ean to!- chhhrrr...”

Ryan swallows. He looks up at Shane, but Shane seems unfazed.

“Did you hear that?”

Shane shakes his head.

“That sounded like “I didn’t mean to.” Are you telling me you didn’t hear that?”

Shane sighs.

“Ryan, all I can hear is the constant pain that is subjected to my ears. Trust me, if I heard something else, I would tell you.”

Ryan snorts.

“Fine, but we’re discussing this bit in detail when we get back.”

“I can’t wait.” Shane says dryly.

He actually manages to make Ryan laugh at that.

 

-

 

Eventually, the investigation is done. At least they have enough footage. TJ packs up while Mark helps Shane to set up the cameras for their “sleep over” and Ryan really doesn’t want to think about that, so instead he decides to take a flight and distract himself. Maybe Devon was up for a race or something. He would have to find her first, though.

 

He finally finds Devon in the kitchen and without Mark at that, which is a blessing because he doesn’t want to keep pouring salt in the wound.

 

“Hey, wanna go for a fly with me?”

“Sure.”

 

She takes off her hoodie as they walk outside and drops it on the chair next to the door. Ryan has already changed into a tank top, not wanting to deal with wing cuffs while flying. It didn’t _really_ restrain him that much but he also preferred shorts for jogging instead of long pants,  so maybe it was just in his head.

 

As they step outside, the wind ruffles their hair and Devon has to pull some of the longer strands out of her face as they are blown into her mouth.

“Bah. Pffrt.”

She spits and makes a face while Ryan snorts.

“Race you around the barn?”

He points at the old family barn, at about two hundred feet distance from the house. He doesn’t exactly know what was kept there, but the building looks like it had better days.

“Sure.”

They widen their stance, Little Owl wings and Merlin wings stretch out-

“Three-two-one-go!” Ryan shouts in one breath and with a strong jump and a beat of his wings he shoots up, laughing at Devon cusses loudly behind him over his – _arguab_ _le_ – cheating.

 

Man, Ryan loves being in the air. He  can almost forget about having a race with Devon the second he loses the ground beneath his feet. He feels the wind underneath his wings in every single feather, his body shifting on instinct to slide between the layers of air and let the current pull him up, higher and higher. Cool wind whips around him and he is laughing and he can hear Devon laughing despite her having trouble to catch up. He shoots towards the barn, wings beating and heart pumping and flying truly is his favorite work out.  All the muscles in his back and his chest are  being challenged . He has stretched out his legs behind him, moving them only when he has to change directions and his arms work in support of his wings, steering along. He brings them in as he whizzes past the front right corner of the barn. Ryan can feel the air tense between him and the old wooden building and it’s almost like throwing  himself on a tough mattress and bouncing off. Devon catches up to him, despite being  caught in the outer “lane” of their little racing track. Damn Strigidae and their stupid owl-speed. He huffs and picks up  tempo , almost veering out of his space when the barn ends. He barely makes the corner and Devon dives underneath him and passes. Ryan grits his teeth and pulls wings and arms in, shooting through the air as aerodynamic as he can to catch up to her before they are completely past the back doors of the barn. He can hear Devon giggling and the adrenaline makes him giddy, too.

 

H e tries to copy Devon’s trick and dive past her on the corner but she’s prepared. When she leans into the turn, her wing stretches out and blocks him so Ryan has to beat his wings once, twice to bring himself higher and he loses precious speed. She clearly thinks she has won because he can hear her laugh in the wind so he decides to be reckless, pulls all his limbs in and basically cannonballs forward, shooting past Devon and catching himself  _just_ before he  can slam in the ground. 

 

“Holy shit!” Devon calls out behind him as his wings spread and the wind carries him upwards again. He is well ahead and allows himself a little twirl of celebration before he flares out both wings to break his speed, pulls up his knees and does a perfect landing on the balls of his feet, no stumbling, no slipping, _perfect_.

 

Ryan punches both hands in the air and whoops as Devon lands next to him.

“Ha-HA! I beat you!”

She’s just laughing at him and he can vaguely hear her calling him a reckless idiot  and a cheating cheat who cheats .

“Good race!” He says to cut her off and when he extends a hand, Devon smiles and shakes it.

 

Afterwards, they take a leisurely flight around, barely having to flap their wings thanks to the current that keeps them up and they get a good look around the area.

 

“There really is _nothing_ around here.” Devon comments as they take in the area.

“Yeah. I mean, I read that they were reclusive but, fuck, this is something else.”

“Maybe they had something to hide?”

“Oh yeah no doubt about that.”

 

He feels a bit uneasy when they return. Shane and he would sleep on location and Ryan hates it – as usual – but this place is not just creepy, it’s lonely. If anything were to happen, finding help would be really hard and it makes him worry. Devon doesn’t seem to notice that he has fallen silent. She seems to be enjoying the flight and Ryan tries to do the same, he really does.

 

When they return, they can see Shane, TJ and Mark sit outside the house in the folding chairs the crew always carries in the van. Ryan waves and they wave back. Even from the distance, he can see Shane break out into a smile.

 

They land and  Ryan self-consciously flattens his hair. Usually the product he put in it would keep the spikes intact but he hasn’t gelled his hair today. Shane likes it when he doesn’t because his hair is soft and Shane can feel  every single down in between  the strands and he will ruffle Ryan’s hair more and pet his scalp and Ryan flushes scarlet when he realizes how easily he has given up on his usual vain little  preening routine because it means he gets to feel Shane run fingers through his hair.

 

Crap.

 

They join the others. To his credit, Mark compliments them when he hears about their little race and they all sit together in a circle and chat for a while. The crew will leave in about an hour, leaving Shane and Ryan to themselves in the haunted house and Ryan thinks about his mortality a bit more than he is comfortable with. If he’s honest, he doesn’t think he will die tonight, but he is still afraid of what might happen. Something in him pulls towards letting the three crew members in on his and Shane’s “secret”. He doubts they will mind. But he’s still scared.

 

So instead he listens to them chat about hybrid traits and stereotypes and characteristics and why he usually doesn’t put too much weight on them, he has to agree that Buzzfeed and other creative fields have a large amount of Avians. Shane makes a terrible, horrible pun about “flocks of them” being drawn to creative fields and Mark looks like he is contemplating to pelt the sandwich he’s been eating at Shane’s huge head. Ryan is laughing and TJ is laughing and Devon is rolling her eyes and there are no cameras, so suddenly, he feels brave. When the laughter and discussion has died down, he clears his throat and looks at Shane.

 

Shane is still smiling over the joking and bickering when he catches Ryan’s eye.

 

Sometimes, Ryan thinks Shane could be a mind reader. Of course Shane doesn’t believe in mediums and mind readers and the lot, but he seems to be very much in tune with what Ryan is thinking. He takes in Ryan’s face and seems surprised for a moment before smiling. His hand is resting on the arm of the folding chair, one of the few parts visible of the seat, because nearly the entirety of the chair is enveloped in his curled tail. Shane twists the hand palm up and looks at Ryan. It’s not demanding or expecting. His eyes are warm and he is smiling in that reassuring way so Ryan feels all the defensiveness drain from his body and he is nearly completely calm when he speaks.

 

“By the way, I think you guys deserve to know.” He reaches out and takes Shane’s hand and a shiver runs down his spine when Shane squeezes his.

“Shane and I… have been dating for a couple of weeks.”  
It’s quiet for a few seconds, the crew stunned by the sudden change in topic and the revelation before they all simultaneously start to cheer.

Devon shouts something about being so _happy_ , Mark makes a sarcastic comment about it being about time and TJ actually clasps his hands together and brings them up to his mouth because he is about to get a little weepy. Hugs are exchanged, congratulations are said and they all toast to Ryan and Shane with the various non-alcoholic drinks they are holding. Ryan feels on the spot and shy but their crew are great people and friends and seeing their approval and delight over Shane and him being together is reassuring and sweet.

 

Also he can keep holding Shane’s hand now.

 

-

 

Eventually, the three leave and after the Ghoulboys have finished waving after the retreating car, they are left to themselves.

 

Ryan thinks about upstairs and the condition the bathroom has been in. Nobody got murdered there, but they might as well have, because both the bathtub and the walls are slathered in dirt and grime. There definitely is mildew and a lot of the metal is rusted.

“The bathroom is still gross, I’m glad I used the one at the service station.”  
“We still have to brush our teeth, though.”

Crap. Shane’s right.

 

-

 

Ryan turns on the tap above the sink and nothing comes out of it but the smell of old, abandoned pipes.

“Ew.”

“There is a water pump outside by the barn, maybe that works. Otherwise we’ll just use our drinking water.”

“Right.” Ryan looks at Shane. “Good thinking.”

 

They stand outside by the water pump, brushing their teeth side by side and Ryan is getting really nervous. He doesn’t like this house. The energy in it leaves him tense and jumpy. It’s the real world equivalent of watching a horror movie and seeing someone creep towards a door everyone knows is just bad news. It’s the swelling of violins in the back of his head screeching towards a high that will explode in panic. Tonight was gonna be terrible.

 

Shane spits out toothpaste next to him and for a moment it’s quiet before-

“Whoah.”

Ryan looks over at Shane. His boyfriend has pushed upwards on quite a bit of his tail, making him even taller and he is staring upwards, open mouthed. Ryan looks up.

“Oh.”

_Whoah_ describes the sight surprisingly well. Above them, in the pitch black night sky there are thousands- no,  _millions_ of stars, stretching across the entire sky like a blanket t hat cover s the whole world. He can see clusters and the shimmer of the milky way and he feels that  the  toothpaste is dribbling out of the corner of his mouth from staring. He wipes it away, tears his eyes off the stars for a second to spit it out before he looks up again.

 

Ryan has no clue about stars, but what he is seeing right now is beautiful, far away from the light pollution of the big cities so much more is visible. It fills him with calm, douses the flames of anxiety and lets him take everything in. It’s _so_ beautiful.

 

As embarrassing as it is, the word beautiful brings his thoughts back to Shane and he looks over only to see that Shane is staring at him. They smile at each other, shyly.

 

“This is amazing.” Shane whispers.

“Yeah.”

Shane pulls out his phone and checks the time.

“I mean… we won’t get much sleep here anyway, if this house is anything like the others...”

Ryan scoffs a little but Shane’s soft smile placates him.

“ _But_ I know you want to be around to capture sounds and stuff so… should we go back in?”

Ryan sighs and tilts his head back, looking up.

“I mean… we really should.”

He hears Shane laugh so quietly it’s barely more than a couple of exhales. Ryan decides to be brave:

“But… maybe we can allow ourselves half an hour?”

He looks over.

Shane is smiling widely and he seems so giddy that Ryan can’t feel guilty about putting the investigation on hold for thirty minutes.

“I would like that.”

 

They sit down in front of the barn. The grass is dry and a bit prickly, but Ryan can take it and make himself think that it adds to the atmosphere. He is about to lie down, wings stretched out so he doesn’t squish them under his back, when Shane stops him with a hand to his shoulder.

 

“Uh, if you want, you can lean against me. Like… cuddle, you know.”

Ryan’s heart starts to pick up speed a little.

“Yeah? Okay.”

Shane pulls him closer. His tail curls around Ryan, slips under his knees and around his lower back, spiraling up around his body. For a second, Ryan feels a tingle of anxiety being wrapped in the large snake body, but he soothes it almost immediately. Shane would never hurt him, he was just being skittish.

 

“Lean back now.”

Shane’s voice is very soft and he has shuffled closer. Ryan slowly leans back and he slowly settles onto part of Shane’s tail, settling down almost like he would on a doughnut-shaped pool float. There is a light support on his back, just between the wings and he feels a tickle on his cheek and sees that the tip of Shane’s tail has settled over his shoulder. His legs are stretched out now and he can look up without having to stretch his neck uncomfortably.

“Huh.” He says, impressed. “You can make a deck chair… that’s impressive.”

Shane wheezes and Ryan can see him shake his head in the corner of his vision.

“Are you comfortable?”

He looks over. Shane is braced on one hand on his side and looks at Ryan with adoration.

“...almost.”

Shane frowns, body shifting subconsciously.

“Should I move?”

“Just a bit.”

Ryan reaches out and touches Shane’s arm. He tugs a bit, trying to pull him closer. Shane finally gets it and he laughs and shakes his head, but he moves over.

Shane shuffles a bit and then lies on his back over his own tail, stretching out until his head is in Ryan’s lap. Now Ryan truly is completely wrapped up in Shane and the way he lies in the tail coils reminds him of the first time he had build a nest with his dad. This is different, though, because he can place a hand on Shane’s chest and Shane reaches up to play with his fingers. His other hand starts petting Shane’s hair and he slowly has to tear his gaze away from his boyfriend to look up again.

 

Cuddled together the way they are, he doesn’t even feel the first chill of the night anymore. Shane’s tail is always cool to the touch, the scales isolating more of his body heat, but Shane’s torso is lying on him and they are holding each other so it really feels like a warm and protective nest.

 

Above them, the stars shine bright and the longer Ryan stares, the brighter the little dots in the distance seem. He tries to remember what he learned about constellations, but he’s so rusty that he pulls out his phone and just looks them up.

 

“Oh.”

Shane blinks up at him.

“You alright?”

“Yeah- It’s just...”

Ryan giggles a bit. He points above them.

“See those three that are a small triangle?”

Shane follows the way Ryan’s pointing, squints at the night sky for a moment and then he lights up.

“Yeah I see them. The one the large fir points at?”

“Yep. That’s the “Head of the Snake”. Not gonna read the Latin; I would butcher it anyway.”

Shane chuckles.

“Is there more to the snake or is it just the head?”

“It goes on with the body over here...”

Ryan takes Shane’s hand and moves his pointer finger from star to star, zig-zagging a little bit.

“Down there and then over here. This is where the image is interrupted by-”

He looks down at his phone.

“Ophiu-...cus. Ophiochus the Snake-Bearer.”

“Where’s the guy bringing the snake and why is he bearing one?”

“I don’t fucking know. Wikipedia says he might have been a healer or something. Wanted to make people immortal but Zeus killed him before he could.”

“Good Ol’ Zeus, always the best interest of the world on his mind.”

Ryan snorts.

“And over here the tail continues. The head and the tail are technically two different constellations.”

“Nice… I mean I knew that there was a snake constellation but I didn’t know we were right under it. Is there a lil’ birdie up there too?”

Ryan huffs a laugh and hides his blush behind his held up phone. He scrolls a bit, looks up and tries to find the snake’s tail again.

“Ah. See where the tail points at?”

He points up and Shane’s head tilts back, leaning on Ryan’s thigh.

“Yeah… there is another line…” He moves his hand across. “And kind of a broken T-shape? Is that a bow or something?”

Ryan chuckles.

“It’s the _E_ _agle_. I doubt there’s a Merlin up there. Not the bird anyways.”

Shane is laughing and the tail on Ryan’s shoulder squeezes softly.

“So the snake’s tail is pointing at the bird?”

“Hm-hm.”

Shane turns and looks at Ryan and Ryan lowers his phone.

“Or poking it like, _hey eagle, hey, hey where are you flying_ -”

Shane starts to poke Ryan in the shoulder with the tip of his tail.

“ _Where are you going? This guy has been carrying me for thousands of years I really would like to go somewhere on my own sometime. Wanna help me out?_ ”

Another poke.

“ _Hey, hey you. Wanna go on a date?_ ”

Ryan is wheezing and tries to grab at Shane’s tail. He finally managing to catch it. It’s wiggling in his grasp, not unlike a finger and it’s surprisingly hard to hold onto.

“What the fuck, Shane.” He finally manages through laughter. “Are you… ‘shipping’ constellations?”

Shane smirks up at him.

“Maybe? Or maybe I was using the stars to ask you out?”

Ryan huffs another little laugh, cheeks warming. He lets go of Shane’s tail and when Shane pushes up into a half-sitting position, he leans in and allows his boyfriend to kiss him.

“Could have been more romantic.” He says after they part. “I’ll give you six out of ten for that.”

Shane gasps in mock outrage, hand on his chest.

“How dare you! I’m the most romantic guy on earth.”

“Eeeeh...” Ryan makes a wiggling gesture with his hand. He stops when Shane’s fingers dig in his sides and start to tickle him and he breaks down in wheezes and _don’t you fucking- stop!_ and he tries to get back at Shane and reach his ribs and they are laughing until Shane has mercy and leans their foreheads together, stars forgotten. Ryan feels his heart flutter and has to kiss him and Shane wraps his arms around his shoulders and it’s really nice.

 

-

 

They settle in their sleeping bags and Ryan will never not find Shane’s one funny because Shane wiggles into this giant thing like he is putting on a weird huge sock and Ryan is sure he could probably fit in there twice. But then Shane winds himself in a loose half circle around Ryan and Ryan swallows. His boyfriend looks at him.

“That okay?” He doesn’t speak too loud, the camera will probably not pick it up.

“Yeah.” He hears himself answering just as softly. Who cares if the audience is going to pick up on their relationship? The way Shane is settled around him makes Ryan feel a lot safer all of a sudden, so he will gladly bear teasing in the comments.

He digs deeper into his sleeping bag because the night brought a surprising chill. His wings curl over his shoulders and he wishes he could lie on something a little more comfortable. But it’s alright. He won’t get much sleep anyway.

 

Shane falls asleep within minutes, leaving Ryan to strain his ears for anything. One time he thinks he hears the flapping of wings, not birds but big ones, Avian ones, but when he tries to locate the noise again, it’s gone. There is creaking above him and he tries to calm down. It’s an old house, it’s settling. That’s normal. Ryan stares at Shane’s sleeping form. People were really afraid of this goofball? He can barely believe it. Shane is funny and kind and really calm around most things. He is so relaxed most of the time he can just blend into the background – at least Ryan felt that way before his infatuation for Shane grew. Now, to him, it’s almost always like Shane is standing in a big spotlight. It’s cheesy but he can’t help it. He loves the big guy so much.

 

-

 

Ryan wakes to sunlight filtering through the broken blinds and his wings spread out wide. He lifts his head and realizes he is lying on something. For a moment he can’t grasp on where he is. He’s not at home, not at Shane’s place, so he must be on… ah. Right. They’re on location.

 

Huh. He fell asleep on location and _stayed_ asleep until morning. That was rare. Ryan blinks. He now recognizes what he’s lying on. Or, well, _who_. He is lying on the lower half of Shane’s tail, still wrapped in the sleeping bag. Ryan looks over to see Shane still fast asleep. Ryan’s wing is protectively draped over him and Shane has burrowed so deeply in his sleeping bag and the feathers all Ryan can see is his forehead, his eyes and a bit of fuzzy hair. Ryan kind of wants to pull his wing back, for the sake of the cameras, but the thought of dragging them off of Shane feels worse than being caught stealing the covers off of your partner, so he stays where he is. He rubs his cheek on his makeshift body pillow and hopes that Shane isn’t sore when he wakes up. Ryan really doesn’t want to move off of him, but he doesn’t exactly know how well Shane’s tail does with circulation. Is it the same when someone lies on your arm and it feels dead and tingly in the morning? Then again, he has seen Shane with his nephew and niece, both Mammalian and they love clinging to the back of his tail, hitching a ride when they go to Theme Parks with the family. Either way, he doesn’t want to move. So he stays where he is.

 

Eventually, Shane starts to stir. He snuffles and rolls on his back, eyes scrunching shut further before slowly opening and blinking at the sunlight. He glances down at Ryan’s wing draped over him and Ryan feels a lump in his throat at Shane’s happy smile. His boyfriend shuffles down a little to bury himself even more under the feathers but stops when he catches Ryan staring. Ryan smiles instinctively and hugs Shane’s tail to his body. Shane looks down and his eyes widen with understanding and he looks so fucking happy that Ryan would kiss him if the camera wasn’t still running.

 

“Morning.” He says instead, voice thick with sleep, still.

“Good morning...” Shane brings up a hand to rub his eyes. “Got any sleep?”

“I … slept surprisingly well. Maybe the ghosts are out on vacation.”

Shane laughs.

“Or maybe they aren’t real.”

“Shut up.”

There is no malice in there, their eyes are still locked and they look at each other with relaxed expressions, not addressing how much they are touching despite having almost two feet of space between them.

“I guess we should get up and pack our stuff.”

“Yeah.”

 

-

 

When they get back home, Ryan takes Shane to his apartment and kisses him thoroughly. Shane seems surprised, but happy and he buries a hand in Ryan’s hair and Ryan clings to Shane and they returned safe and sound. Ryan orders them dinner and they spend the evening entwined on the couch watching so sweet romantic movie Ryan doesn’t remember because he is too busy kissing Shane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the constellations:  
> I’m not an expert but if I did my research right, the serpent and aquila should be visible in the western states during summer! :3
> 
>  
> 
> Mark is an Avian with traits of the Palawan Peacock Pheasant, a bird native to the Phillipines. (Celestino means light blue / sky blue and the bright feathers settled in the black of the peacock wings are a bright sky blue.)
> 
> TJ is a simian (monkey-like) hybrid, with traits of the Barbary macaque. I wanted TJ to be good at climbing and moving so it was either a feline hybrid (based on his two cats) or a monkey one (because he has instagram pics with a monkey). Marchbank is most likely a Scottish name and a large number of Barbary macaques have been transported from Gibraltar to a national park in Scotland.
> 
> Devon is an avian hybrid, with traits of the Little Owl. Devon’s last name Joralmon is most likely Dutch and little owls are common birds in Europe. (She also seems to like to perch on things and has an owl pillow according to instagram)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Sorry.” Shane chuckles softly. “Are you going to tell me what you had planned?”  
> “Well...” Ryan fidgets with his folder, suddenly shy. Anticipation tingles in Shane’s stomach. Ryan glances at the tech and the window of the sound booth, making sure the recording is off and nobody from outside is listening in before speaking.
> 
> “You see, it’s my dad’s birthday on Sunday. So I’ll drive out to visit my family.”
> 
> Shane nods.  
> “And you need someone to pick you up on Monday?”  
> Ryan frowns. Stares at the folder. Then, slowly, looks up at Shane with an incredulous expression.
> 
>  
> 
> “No, Shane.” He says slowly, as if talking to a child. “I want you to come with me. So you can meet my family.”  
> Shane’s jaw drops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to Shane's POV in this one! It took some time, but at least it's a bit longer in exchange!

“Almost finished, then.”

Ryan takes off his headphones and Shane next to him does the same.

 

They have been recording voice over for the show, their discussion of the spirit box recording and EVP readings is over and there is not much left to do except for editing. Ryan gets the final cut, but everything else is thankfully done by others, nowadays.

 

“Did you get Monday off?” Ryan asks, suspiciously casual while staring at his notes as if he is looking for something.

Shane looks at him. Ryan has been adamant about him taking next Monday off and promised it was important. So of course, Shane had done exactly that right away because he trusted Ryan. However, because he could be a bit of a tease, he had not given Ryan the good news right away. Maybe it was “revenge” for being left in the dark about why Ryan needed Shane to take that day off. Maybe he just liked to see his boyfriend squirm once in a while.

 

“Ah, right, about that-”

He breaks off as Ryan’s head flies up, eyes wide and a stunned expression on his face. Shane falters, realizing how about-to-be-heartbroken Ryan looks and drops the charade instantly.

“Yes. I got everything figured out, I’ll be all yours on Monday.”

Ryan opens his mouth, trying to say something before he grumbles and punches Shane softly in the arm.

“You scared the crap out of me, you dick. Don’t do that.”

“Sorry.” Shane chuckles softly. “Are you going to tell me what you had planned?”

 

“Well...” Ryan fidgets with his folder, suddenly shy. Anticipation tingles in Shane’s stomach. Ryan glances at the tech and the window of the sound booth, making sure the recording is off and nobody from outside is listening in before speaking.

“You see, it’s my dad’s birthday on Sunday. So I’ll drive out to visit my family.”

Shane nods.  
“And you need someone to pick you up on Monday?”

Ryan frowns. Stares at the folder. Then, slowly, looks up at Shane with an incredulous expression.

 

“No, Shane.” He says slowly, as if talking to a child. “I want you to come with me. So you can meet my family.”

Shane’s jaw drops.

 

Of course, he has seen Ryan’s family before they started dating, but it had been quite a while since then. And after he got introduced to them, he had popped in on Ryan’s weekly Skype calls sometimes. But this was different. The thought of meeting Ryan’s family in person had been somewhere in the back of his mind and he had put it off as something to deal with later. On top of that, he suddenly realizes that the birthday of Ryan’s dad won’t just be his father, mother and brother. Birthdays were celebrated with the _family_ , sometimes the extended family. Maybe even old family friends-

 

“Oh.” He says softly.

Ryan seems to take it the wrong way.

“I mean. I just thought- It’s of course fine if you don’t want to-”

“No, hang on.”

 

Shane grabs Ryan’s shoulder and stops him from fidgeting.

“I… I really want to. I guess I was just surprised. Uhm.”

He bites his bottom lip.

“What if they don’t like me?”

Ryan snorts.

“Dude, what? They already like you. They want to meet you and this is perfect for you to see them. Why not?”

Shane swallows.

 

_Because I could embarrass myself in front of your entire family and make you believe it was a huge mistake dating me._

_Because I’m going to be a weird white dude who knows nothing of the cultures of your family and will probably say something incredibly stupid._

_Because I will be the only Serpentine hanging with a bunch of Avians and I could creep someone out or worse and they will all think you’re in danger with me._

 

He doesn’t say  any that out loud. But the thought s still sit in his mind.  So he says the next best thing.

“I guess I’m just nervous. You were nervous when we told them. You even said they might not approve of me.”

Ryan’s expression softens and he places a hand on Shane’s cheek.

“Hey. I wasn’t entirely serious, and I was freaking out myself, okay? I get it, it’s fine if you’re nervous but don’t worry. They have been nagging me to meet you because they do really think you’re as funny and kind as you are. So don’t worry too much. I was worried that day and thought something might go wrong, but it was also because I had never introduced them to a _boyfriend_ before. And you know it was kind of stupid because everything was fine and they adore you.”

Shane swallows.

“They said that?”

Ryan snorts a little.

“Yeah! What, does that surprise you? A few days ago you called yourself a “fucking delight” after making a terrible pun. I didn’t take you for someone who has low self esteem.”

Shane clears his throat.

“But this is _serious_. It’s not about jokes or word games, it’s about being a respectable person! I want to make a good impression.”

He frowns.

 

“Should I bring something? A gift for your dad? Oh, and maybe flowers for your mom. Jake doesn’t get anything, he thinks I’m a sexual deviant so-”

Ryan is wheezing and puts a hand over Shane’s mouth, stopping his ramblings.

“Dude. It’s fine. Just come with me. I want you there. They want to meet you. No need to worry about gifts or anything. Just be yourself.”

 

Shane huffs, trying to calm down. Ryan’s eyes are warm and dark and big and he feels the tension in his body let up a little. He kisses Ryan’s fingers before the hand gets pulled away from his mouth and finally nods.

“Okay. I’ll come with you.”

Ryan’s face lights up and despite them still being at work, visible through the window of the sound booth, he pulls Shane into a tight hug and presses a kiss to his temple.

“Thank you.” He whispers and Shane clings to him, feels feathers tickle his cheek as Ryan’s wings stretch up and the anxiousness slowly melts away.

“Thank _you,_ ” he whispers back.

 

-

 

Shane tries to relax about the whole thing, he really does. It’s just the quiet moments that get to him. When Ryan texts him that he is going to pack his suitcase, Shane does the same and he realizes he is fretting about what to take along. He video calls Ryan at one point and he is clearly bad at hiding that he is freaking out.

 

“Shane, dude, why are you so jumpy?”

Shane makes a face at the camera and is rewarded with a bright grin on Ryan’s face.

“You have it easy! You’re their son! But I have to make a good first impression. Should I wear a skirt? Some people get weird when I wear nothing but a shirt. Then again, some people get weird if they see a guy in a skirt and they haven’t met a Serpentine before, right? Crap, I mean, I could put on the flannel, but is that too casual? I have a suit jacket somewhere. Shit, where did I put that?”

Ryan’s laughter filters through the speakers and usually that is one of Shane’s favorite sounds in the world, but with his head stuck in the closet and him searching frantically, it barely manages to calm him down a little.

“Shane, it’s a fucking casual garden party. We will eat a lot and drink even more and probably play domino with my uncles! There is no reason to lose your fucking mind.”

Shane whines and pulls a face, trying to gain pity, but Ryan just keeps grinning at the camera.

“Is your Hawaii shirt clean again?”

“Uh…”

Shane sticks his head in the wardrobe, searching a bit.

“Yes?”

“Take it. It looks great on you and it fits the theme.”

Shane swallows.

“Okay. Sorry for interrupting your packing.”

Ryan sighs softly on the other side.

“Don’t worry about it. And don’t worry so much about my family. They will love you.”

Shane tries to meet Ryan’s eyes in the call but it’s not so easy with the screen and the camera being in different places.

“Can I come over, later?”

Ryan flushes a little bit and Shane sees him swallow.

“Of course. I can order us some food, if you want.”

“Sounds good.” Shane clutches his phone close.

“You know what?” Ryan smiles at him through the camera. “Just bring your packed stuff. You can sleep over tonight.”

Shane’s stomach flips.

“Okay. Yeah, sounds good.”

Ryan winks at the camera and ends the call.

Shane sits in his bedroom, a little stunned but with the feeling of excitement thrumming under his skin.

He suddenly can’t wait to meet Ryan’s family.

 

-

 

Ryan tells him not to fuss too much in the morning. He takes in Shane in his pink button down with the dark denim jacket tied around his waist and smiles so endearingly that Shane has to move in and kiss him. Ryan clearly isn’t opposed to that and kisses back eagerly and it doesn’t take them long to get way too much into it and they are making out on Ryan’s couch for a little too long, because suddenly the chime on Ryan’s phone goes off and he gasps, pulling away from Shane.

 

“Oh fuck. We have to leave. That was my last reminder to get our asses moving!”

Shane slowly disentangles himself. His hands had held onto Ryan’s wings and his tail is still wrapped around his boyfriend’s leg, so he needs a moment to get off the sofa and let go of Ryan. Somehow, their make out has pulled his mind far, far away from the fact that he is about to meet Ryan’s family and once the realization comes back to him, he surges up and speeds to the bathroom, checking his face and hair to make sure he doesn’t look like he just spend half an hour making out on a couch.

 

Ryan pokes his head in after a minute, clearly laughing at him.

“Come on, _babe_ , time to hit the road.”

Shane clears his throat and runs his hand through his hair one more time.

“Don’t make fun of me. I’m really trying to keep it together here. I can’t look that ruffled in front of your family!”

Ryan leans against the door frame and smiles at him so softly, Shane’s heart misses a beat.

“I know. Don’t worry, okay? You _will_ make a good impression.”

“How do you know that?”

Okay, maybe he sounds a little too terrified as he looks at Ryan through the mirror, but Shane can’t help it. He stares at Ryan’s reflection as he sees those dark eyes widen and then Ryan steps up behind him and wraps his arms around Shane’s middle, hugging him tightly and secure.

“Because _I_ adore you. Because you make me happy. And my parents, especially my mom, have always been really good at figuring out the people that will be good for me. And… well, wanna know a secret?”

He puts his chin on Shane’s shoulder and Shane instinctively lowers himself a little so Ryan can do it more comfortably. He swallows.

“Sure?”

He can see Ryan’s reflection smile.

“They already thought you would have a great impact on my life even before we were dating. My mother said I should hold onto you because you clearly were a friend for life. Always there to support me and challenge me to do better. It’s why she got so emotional when I talked to her about us. She loved you even before you were my boyfriend.”

“Oh.”

Shane stares ahead, feeling his face heat up while Ryan hugs him tight and kisses his shoulder.

Eventually, the Avian lets him go.

“Come on, big guy, we really need to go.”

Shane nods, looking at his reflection. He’s pretty satisfied with what he sees now. His gaze wanders to the reflection of Ryan’s face.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

 

Ryan’s smile is bright. It’s so brilliant Shane wants to make a quip about needing sunglasses.

 

-

 

Ryan is driving. Shane is curled up on the passenger seat and watches his boyfriend’s hands on the wheel, dancing over the buttons there with familiarity, as if he has never done anything but driven with hand controls. They leased a Serpentine-accessible car in case Shane has to drive them back, but Ryan has already promised him that the toasts to his father’s health would stop the day before they had to go back, so they didn’t have to worry about being too buzzed to drive.

 

Shane really wants to stay awake, but he has worried about this day the whole weekend and not slept enough, clearly. Soon, he is dozing off against the passenger side window and whenever he wakes, he glances over at Ryan and sees his relaxed face focused on the road. The radio is playing music, but it’s soft enough not to disturb someone who is sleeping Shane feels his heart beat faster because he quickly realizes that he is completely in love with this guy. Oh well. It could be worse. After all, he was about to meet this man’s parents. That wasn’t something you did with someone you couldn’t fall in love with, right?

Shane wonders if Ryan’s cousins will needle him about anything or give him the “break his heart I’ll break your bones” talk. Jake has his number and never tried anything like that, even after they told Ryan’s parents, so Shane is hopeful that he can just hang with the extended Bergara family and chill. But a tiny little part of himself is still worried about all the things that could go wrong.

The car slows down and Ryan pulls into a service station.

 

“I need a coffee. Maybe a sandwich, too. What about you?”

Shane swallows and hums and affirmation. They drive even slower and he feels Ryan’s eyes on him.

“Will you please stop fretting? You’re going to wear yourself out before we even get there.”

“Sorry.” Shane clears his throat. “I can’t help it. I keep thinking everything is going to be fine, but then I think about all the possibilities I could mess up or antagonize your family and before I know it-” Shane throws his hands up. “Before I know it, I’m a mess. Good old Shane, huge mess, Madej. That’s the guy you decided to take to Mr. Bergara’s-” He starts. “How old is your dad? Fuck, I didn’t even ask that, oh no!”

Ryan chuckles and they pull into a parking spot. He kills the engine, Shane shuts his mouth and the two of them are left in blessed silence.

Then, a hand settles into Shane’s hair and he feels himself relax a little. His eyes droop.

“Shane. You really need to relax, okay? I’m not taking you along so my family can tear you apart. I want my parents to get along with you and my family as well. Because you’re such a big part of my life, now. But… do you know why I’m not as worried as you?”

Shane glances over. Ryan’s expression is warm and happy.

“Because I know you. And I know them, as well. So I know they’ll all like you. Maybe they’ll like you more than myself, who knows.”

He laughs.

“So. Don’t worry, okay?”

 

Shane swallows hard.

“Okay.”

Ryan leans over the console and kisses his cheek.

“Come on, big guy, let’s grab a snack and get going.”

Shane nods and both of them unbuckle and get out of the car.

“Oh. And by the way. He’s turning sixty.”

Ryan winks at him over the roof of the car and Shane nods, feeling a little less frantic.

 

-

 

Eventually, their journey is at an end.

 

Ryan pulls into the driveway and maneuvers the car behind the minivan already parked there. Shane assumes he is leaving space for other cars that are bound to come in and he is grateful that they seem to be the first guests. He gets out of the car and pats down his outfit. It’s rumpled after sitting for so long and the seat belt has not been kind to his shirt. Somewhere behind him, Ryan is sighing and he looks over to see his boyfriend shake his head.

 

“Come on, you worrywart. Let’s go.”

Shane swallows hard and steels himself, but then Ryan slips a hand in his and entwines their fingers and suddenly, the tense feeling in Shane’s muscles lets up. He droops a little, holding onto Ryan as he takes a deep breath and lets it out, eyes falling shut.

 

Right. He’s here with Ryan. Ryan wanted him here and Ryan is convinced that his family will like him. So, technically there is no reason to worry, right? Shane would trust Ryan with anything. Why not this?

 

He opens his eyes again and looks at his boyfriend. Ryan is smiling widely, cheeks dusted with a hint of red and he looks so excited that Shane can’t help to feel a little giddy as well.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Ryan nods and pulls him along. They have their bags slung over their shoulders and Shane clings onto the strap, determined not to get freaked out again. At least for a while.

 

The house where Ryan grew up isn’t exactly huge, but it looks cozy. Friendly. The windows on the second floor are large casement windows, so he assumes young Ryan and young Jake would start their evening flight from up there somewhere and he feels himself smile imagining a young, slightly scruffy Ryan balancing on the windowsill, eager to swing himself into the air.

 

The front door is pretty wide as well and Shane blinks, remembering the way Ryan draws his wings in in some places where the door frames were too slim to accommodate the relaxed span of the wings. Shane moves up the front porch next to Ryan and looks over.

 

His boyfriend looks back at him, eyes bright and smile still in place. He looks different somehow, here, where his roots are and where he grew up. Something about Ryan softened and he is relaxed, all guards down and Shane feels a tiny bit choked up.

 

“No backing out now, big guy.”

Shane laughs softly.

“I’d never.”

He squeezes Ryan’s hand and Ryan grins and raises his free hand to knock on the door.

 

-

 

Shane could swear he hears muffled voices speaking behind the door. Two, maybe three exchanging quick, whispered words and Ryan next to him rolls his eyes.

 

“They’re just as bad as you are, fussing last minute. Better get used to it… we tend to get like that when expecting people.”

Shane frowns.

“Why would _they_ be nervous? I’m just me!”

Ryan doesn’t answer because the door opens and Shane barely catches the sight of a shorter woman with dark hair before three sets of big, dark wings stretch next to him and he dodges out of the way a little. Ryan is wrapped into a tight hug by the woman, both of them extending their wings with the tips curled slightly, a sight Shane has only seen on Ryan when they meet in open spaces or when Ryan runs into a good friend at Buzzfeed. He assumes it’s a welcoming gesture and feels warmth spread in his chest as Ryan kisses his mother on the cheek before he untangles himself and hugs his father. His father is a little taller than his mom, but Ryan is bigger than both and Shane feels the corners of his mouth twitch. Finally, the Bergaras finish up their quick-spoken welcome and Ryan half-turns to Shane, cheeks flushed and looking beautiful and sweet.

“Mom, Dad. You’ve seen Shane before, but, I guess, welcome my boyfriend.”

 

Shane is careful with how he moves, barely slithering as he leans forward and extends a hand towards Ryan’s father.

“Happy Birthday, Mr. Bergara. I’m honored to finally meet you.”

Ryan’s father laughs and shakes Shane’s hand, nodding. He places his free hand against the back of Shane’s.

“It’s good to meet you too, we have heard a lot.”

“Only good things, I hope.”

Mr. Bergara makes something akin to an “eh” sound and waggles his hand and Shane snorts as Ryan makes an affronted gasp behind him.

“He told me that you might not approve of me.” Shane says, only half-joking.

Ryan’s father laughs. He sounds clearly amused.

“Oh he has made some bad experiences before, we have told him off for being into some really strange people before, right?”

He looks at his wife who seems to be stifling a giggle. Her smile is as brilliant as Ryan’s, except her son is now slightly frowning and grumbling at his parents.

Mr. Bergara looks a lot like Ryan, only growing gray. The double feathers behind his ears are longer, and where Ryan’s are dark and pokey, his father’s are fluffier, lighter and curl around his ears. Shane feels warmth bubble in him when he imagines growing older with Ryan and wonders if he will wear his hair and feathers in a similar fashion.

 

He moves over to Ryan’s mom, who pulls him into a tight hug right away. She is laughing in his ear and talking about how she had waited for this moment and Shane feels a little overwhelmed.

“Now you take care, please, I know our corridor is a bit small, don’t hit your tail on anything and hurt yourself, alright?”

Shane smiles.

“Oh no worries, Mrs. Bergara, we’ve been in much tinier places. At least your house has stairs!”

She fusses over his hair for a moment and then she shakes her head.

“Please. Call me Linda. And this is Steve, he forgets his manners sometime.” Her eyes twinkle as her husband gives her a look.

Shane swallows.

“Alright.”

 

A flat hand smacks him on the back and he turns.

“Oh, hey Jake! Good to see you again!”

Jake, who seemingly has joined the welcome while everyone else was busy, shakes his hand enthusiastically and slaps Shane on the arm.

“Likewise. Did you have a good trip over here?”

“Yup! No problem at all.”

“Nice. Ryan’s old room is upstairs, I was gonna ask if you’re fine with that but-?” He squints a little. “Tell me to fuck off if that’s inappropriate but… how _do_ you get upstairs?”

Shane grins.

“No problem. I just kinda-” He makes a zig-zag motion with his hand, moving it slightly upwards. “A bit like some kids who learn to go downstairs. I butt drop, but like, upwards.”

“Huh. That sounds annoying.”

Shane shrugs.

“It’s not so bad. I can’t rush them up, sure, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t do that with legs either.”

Ryan giggles behind him.

“If you had legs, they would probably be stupidly long anyway, if your height and length is anything to go by.”

“Probably.” Shane grins and feels his stomach flip when Ryan continues to giggle. “80% leg and no idea how to use them? No thanks, I’m happy with this arrangement.”

He flips his tail a little to underline the point and Ryan gives him a coy glance as if to say that he prefers it that way, too.

Jake rolls his eyes, clearly picking up on more than he is comfortable with and takes Shane’s bag.

“I’ll take it upstairs. Ryan can take his own, right?”

Ryan scoffs and smacks him against the elbow, but grins when Jake takes his bag as well.

“Just kidding. You’re the newest guests so you get benefits till our aunts and uncles show up.”

 

Shane gulps a little at that and gains a couple of looks. Jake seems like he finds the whole thing hilarious and Ryan seems a little worried, but Ryan’s parents are both laughing.

“Don’t you worry.” Linda pats his cheek. “My brother is very nice and so are my husband’s siblings. Now come in, come in. You two must be exhausted.”

 

-

 

The next couple of hours pass in a blur.

 

Shane is shown the family home and coos over baby pictures of Ryan, sees him with his little brother train flying for the first time, safely strapped to one of their parents so they don’t fall and crack their head. He helps Linda cooking, reassuring that everything she planned is fine for him to eat.

“I can eat anything, this stomach has nothing that can match its strength!”

“Except for baggage claim food!” Ryan calls from the living room where he is watching a ballgame – Shane has no idea what type – with his father. Shane snorts and starts to rattle off all the places they had bad food at to Ryan’s mom, who looks so distraught at “her children” eating terrible food that she sneaks him a bite from the already finished hot pot. Shane doesn’t complain. He doesn’t have to mention that it was TJ who got sick after the barbecue, not one of them.

Ryan’s old bedroom is a laugh because there are a bunch of posters from basketball players on his wall instead of vaguely dirty pictures or whatever else teens put on their walls. He actually has quite a lot of books and Shane browses them with images of a younger Ryan hanging out on his bed or at the window, leafing through the pages of adventure tales and action packed stories.

He manages to sneak in a kiss or two up there, with Ryan holding both of his hands and Shane’s tail coiled around them in circles.

 

“I told you, you’d fit right in.” Ryan says, eyes sparkling.

“I haven’t met your other relatives yet, you never know.”

Ryan waves him off.

“No way. It’s not like _all_ my relatives are coming, I don’t think we could accommodate all of them anyway. It’s just my parent’s siblings and a couple of cousins. My parents are gonna fly out soon and visit the others. Now come on, before Jake has a reason to make crude jokes over dinner.”

“Oh god no we don’t want that!”

 

-

 

When the other guests arrive, the house basically explodes.

Shane is used to Serpentine families reuniting. You meet, give each other slight hugs, press your foreheads together when it’s a close relative and maybe sort of just… aimlessly circle each other while catching up.

Avians are… different.

 

Once the cars can be heard in the distance, Ryan, his parents and Jake immediately start fixing each other up, making sure they look their best and Shane stands there, stunned, until Ryan turns to him and smiles brightly before bringing up his hands and tucking a strand of Shane’s hair behind his ear.

“You look great, babe, come on.”

Shane lets him take his hand and drag him towards the door. They see two cars pull into the driveway and they barely stopped before people start to pour out. Shane counts eight in total and swallows in preparation of learning and then probably immediately forgetting a bunch of names. He’s shit with names. He should have brought a notepad or something.

 

When someone knocks on the door, the Bergaras seem to wait for a second or two before pulling open the door and there is a chorus of voices, calling out names and Shane catches a bunch of questions at once, most who seem to be about the trip here. Ryan is right in the middle and Shane stands a little on the side, feeling stunned.

 

He realizes that Ryan probably called ahead and asked his parents to tone _their_ greeting down a little and it’s touching but he also feels a little unprepared now. He sees hugs being exchanged and wings stretch and Ryan hoists up a kid that can’t be older than a year, her wings still all baby down and Ryan lifts her in the air and twirls her around and she giggles excitedly, flapping the small wings and Shane could faint because that is the cutest thing he has ever seen.

 

Finally, the greetings have died down a little and the people start to trickle in, only to immediately stop and zero in on Shane and Shane has the sudden desire to do a 180 and flee. Ryan is faster, however.

 

“Everyone, this is Shane Madej. He’s my boyfriend, so be nice.”

A chorus of voices calls out “Shane!” and several of the newcomers walk towards him, arms and wings outstretched and it’s a little jarring but also weirdly sweet, so Shane stays in place and lets the first guest hug him. A middle aged woman with her hair dyed a bright red and several of her contour and flight feathers dyed to match pulls him close and Shane gets a whiff of a soft, refreshing scent. _Detergent_ , he thinks. _Maybe a type of soap?_ It’s comforting and he hugs her back, introducing himself quickly before he moves to the next family member. Within minutes he meets Adrian, the brother of Ryan’s dad and Juana, his sister, their spouses Danna and James, respectively, Adrian’s and Danna’s Daughter Isabella, who is the mother of the little one – Mia – and mentions that her husband couldn’t get off work. Her face suggests that she isn’t exactly ecstatic about it and Shane can only imagine what Ryan would have looked like if Shane didn’t take Monday off. Then he turns and is greeted by Linda’s brother Kenji and his wife Emily and their son Mark who is about Jake’s age and is the only one who doesn’t instantly hug Shane and rather gives him a cool stare and shakes his hand.

 

_Ah_ , Shane thinks.  _Maybe that’s the “break his heart I break your face” one_ . He smiles cheerfully.

 

When Isabella takes Mia back on her hip and turns to Shane, Shane freezes up a little. He knows it’s dumb, kids aren’t necessarily more susceptible to the effects of Instinct, but Shane is still worried he’ll freak her out.

 

“Look, Mia. That’s Shane, Ryan likes him very much.”

Shane blinks as the words register and he realizes he’s probably blushing. He hears a soft protest somewhere in the flock of family, the source clearly being Ryan and there are answering laughs that make Shane blush harder. He can’t see Ryan right now, so he can’t even shoot him a look. Isabella waggles her fingers to gain Mia’s (and by an extent, Shane’s) attention and Shane lowers himself as much as he can and bends over so he’s about her height.

 

“Hello, Mia.” He says softly, waving. She looks at him with big eyes, mouth standing open so her pacifier drops out, luckily caught by a little chain. She struggles a bit in her mom’s arm to glance down at Shane’s lower body and she points at the way his tail is laid out in a wiggly line behind him, babbling something.

“Yes, Mia. Shane is Serpentine. He moves a bit differently.” Her mom explains with a soft voice and Mia seems fascinated and not the least bit afraid. Shane brings up the tip of his tail over his shoulder and wiggles it in front of her and she grabs it, the way babies often do with fingers and then she _giggles_.

 

Shane feels his rib cage expand as he suddenly can breathe freely again.

“Thank goodness,” he hears himself say. “I was kinda freaking out about her losing it.”

Isabella laughs and finally, Ryan parts the sea of dark feathers and joins them, eyes widening as he sees Shane play with Mia.

“Oh wow, she is super into you.” He says and Shane looks over to see his boyfriend flushed and bright-faced and happy and he swallows.

“Yeah? That’s cool, because I’m her biggest fan, now.”

Mia blows a spit bubble and Shane snorts, nodding as if she said the smartest thing in the room.

“Absolutely. I’m right behind you on that, little one.”

 

-

 

Over dinner there is a pleasant mess of voices all talking sort of at the same time and Shane realizes he is sort-of-following three conversations at once and he has so much fun he feels stupid about how much he fretted before. Ryan at his side nudges him with his wing against his shoulder and Shane looks over to see him smile proudly and suddenly, despite how delicious it is, Shane finds it hard to swallow the food. Once the plates are gone and everyone has switched to various digestives, Shane reaches out and takes Ryan’s hand under the table. He knows he probably looks ridiculously besotted as he looks at him – if the stifled giggles by some of the others are anything to go by – but he doesn’t care, because Ryan beams at him and seems so at ease in his childhood home with Shane there, Shane could wrap himself around Ryan entirely and hug the shit out of him.

 

He doesn’t, of course. But he definitely thinks about it.

 

-

 

After dinner the family piles in the living room and Shane gets the full show of what family game night at the Bergara household is like. There is no cursing but a _lot_ of yelling in exasperation during Pictionary and Shane realizes again, that Ryan can’t draw to save his life. They still do pretty well, mostly because nobody else gets the word “bridge” from Ryan drawing yellow eyes and goat horns and Shane is shaking with laughter when Mark stares at him in complete confusion and finally speaks for the first time in the whole evening:

 

“ _How_?”

Shane really doesn’t want to be a dick but he can’t help it. He shrugs.

“Ryan and I just get each other.” He looks up at his boyfriend who sends him a grin and there is a wolf whistle from Ryan’s uncle and Ryan turns with a gasp and chucks the pen at him.

 

-

 

Drinking to the health of the household patriarch leaves him more than a little buzzed, because everyone seems to want to take their turn with saying their own toast. Each being followed by people emptying their glasses and Shane is glad that he has some body mass and a big dinner to support the drinks because otherwise he would be on the floor by the time his turn comes. He flushes when he sees all the eyes on him, but Ryan’s arm is around his middle and gives him a squeeze, so Shane takes a deep breath and lifts his glass.

 

“I’m the first to admit that I was really nervous coming here. The little guy can tell you a story or two about my panic.” He gestures towards Ryan who huffs a laugh. “But I can’t tell you how happy I am to be here. All of you were so nice and welcoming and I can’t even believe how much fun I’m having right now. I guess, what I’m saying is, thank you Mr. Bergara for having a birthday?”

He breaks off when the others start to laugh.

“In all honesty, though. Thank you so much for inviting me and I can only hope you have the best year of your life coming up because you seriously deserve it, all of you do because this was probably the best evening of my life. Well...”  
Shane clears his throat and looks at Ryan.

“Except for the evening you told me you liked me.” He mutters the last part but Isabella clearly has caught it because she “Awwwh”s really loudly which causes everyone else to laugh, even Mark and Mia blinks awake from where she has been asleep against her mother’s shoulder and looks around in confusion.

 

Isabella pats her wings down and pushes her head back against her shoulder, mumbling something about it being time to turn in soon and Shane feels the weight of the food and the drinks and the _feelings_ settle on him and decides, it’s a good idea.

 

-

 

Ryan helps his parents clean up the living room and shoos Shane out to have some “recharge time” even though Shane protested that he still has some energy in his social batteries. He ends up on the porch with his drink and shakes his head fondly. Ryan knows he is not the greatest extrovert and he has to admit, that the worries about meeting Ryan’s family and the evening being surrounded by energetic and excitable Avians, as fun as it was, drained him a little. So he settles on the porch, curling up as he sips his drink and looks out at the night sky. There are a couple of stars peeking out and he remembers the night he and Ryan spent on location, looking at the sky. His heart beats a little faster at the memory.

 

The door behind him opens and closes and he hears footsteps drawing nearer. For a moment he expects Ryan to join him but he almost freezes in surprise when he sees Mark stop next to him. He looks Shane up and down with a little frown at Shane’s lower, curled up half before he drops in one of the rocking chairs on the porch, leaning back.

 

Shane isn’t sure what to expect. Mark seems to be a quiet type in general, even with his close family, but he had played along during the games and seems to have a friendly disposition to everyone… except for Shane. Whenever their eyes met his face had closed off, looking at Shane as if trying to get into his head, eyes boring into Shane’s. It was a little creepy, Shane had to admit, but then again, he was the new guy. He was dating one of this guy’s closest relatives and he was a bit different in more than one way. Shane wonders for a moment if Mark has any problem with him and if yes, which kind. Is it the guy thing, the white thing or the Serpentine thing? Shane has literally no idea and it’s not like he can really ask. But in the end, he doesn’t have to, because Mark starts speaking.

 

“You know, you weren’t the kind of guy I expected when my mom told me Ryan was dating a co-worker.”

Shane brings his glass to his mouth, more to bridge the silence than to drink.

“Yeah? I’m… sorry?”

Mark looks over.

“Not what I was after. I guess I was just surprised. You didn’t seem his… type.”

“Really.” Shane finds himself getting curious. “What’s his type, then?”

Mark shrugs.

“Girls. Avian girls, who are shorter than him, mostly. There was the odd exception, but that was usually the type he would bring home as a teenager.”

“I see.” Shane stares in his glass. A part of him wants to tell Mark off about how that didn’t have to mean anything, that there is nothing wrong with going “against type”. But the description… stings a little. Shane thinks about how nervous he had been to lean in and kiss Ryan on the cheek the night the other man helped him shed. It had been the first move towards something new, innocent enough for Ryan to brush it off if he wasn’t interested, but clear enough to suggest that there could be more. He knows it’s dumb, but sometimes he can’t help but think if he rushed Ryan into something. If he got him sort of trapped into a polite situation where he couldn’t help but kiss him. It’s nonsense, of course, but Shane still gets nervous and unsure.

 

“When I heard of you I got kinda… worried, I guess.” Mark looks at him with narrowed eyes and Shane waits for the other shoe to drop.

“He’s never dated a guy before. I mean… he told me he liked guys too, but he was always holding out for girls in the end. I figured you must be kinda special and… I guess I was disappointed when I met you.”

Shane snorts.

“Sorry to… disappoint, I guess?” He huffs. “I’m a pretty normal dude.”

“Yeah.” Mark agrees. “That’s what was so weird. You’re not some Avian girl he tries to get with because he feels like that’s what his family expects by now. Or some hunky bodybuilder or whatever. You’re pretty normal, you fit right in and yet he seemed so nervous it was almost funny. When I met you he was hovering around you and everything. Hell, he even told me to be nice a second time and I really feel like he just wanted you to feel welcomed and us to like you. He usually wouldn’t do that shit.”

Shane shrugs and laughs without really meaning to.

“Maybe he was worried that I was so shitty that all of you would tell him that.”

“Nope.” Mark suddenly seems very serious. “He had that one girlfriend in High School who was… not a nice person. She sucked, if I’m honest. We told him and he didn’t listen because he was in love. It was the only time the family tried to get involved with Ryan’s love life and after that… uh, crashed and burned, I guess, he probably got worried we would do the same with you.”

“Oh. I think I sort of get it, now.” Shane admits. “So, uh. What’s your verdict?”

He looks over and sees Mark smile, a wide, toothy grin plastered on his face.

“Honestly? He seems head over heels for you and you seem to be the same. It’s kinda gross so I guess that’s a good thing, being so gross it’s cute. You two seem very happy and I appreciate that you make him act all sappy and… I guess family-oriented.”

Shane smiles at Mark, feeling a sudden gratitude.

“Thank you. I like you guys a lot, you’re great.”

“Eh. They’re okay.”

Mark easily falls back into the attitude of a young person dragged along to a family event they aren’t really into and Shane laughs.

The porch door opens again and they look over to see a surprised Ryan poke his head out.

“I heard Mark came out here so I was expecting him to challenge you to a duel or something.”

Shane grins.

“Oh he doesn’t want to mess with Madej, I made that clear.”

Mark next to him snorts.

“Sure, stretch, you tell yourself that.”

Shane smacks him over the head with the tip of his tail as he turns to join Ryan. Ryan is still giggling as they make their way up the stairs.

 

-

 

When he drops on Ryan’s childhood bed, he stares at the ceiling while water runs in the bathroom where Ryan is getting ready for bed. He’s thinking 24 hours back to when he was freaking out and shakes his head. Getting introduced to Ryan’s family as _the boyfriend_ sure had been scary, but he would not go back for all the money in the world. Shane feels stupidly emotional, so he just drags as much of himself into the bed as he can while still leaving room for Ryan and lies down on his side and closes his eyes.

 

He first hears the water and then the light turn off, before the taps of Ryan’s feet come closer and he feels feathers brush his cheek as the bed next to him dips. Ryan lies down next to him and pulls him close, ignoring the long pillow within reach. Instead, he rolls them until he is settled on Shane’s chest and his foot nudges Shane’s tail until it wraps around his legs and entangles them. Ryan sighs and Shane feels himself smile as wings settle over them.

 

“I’m glad you’re here.” Ryan mutters and Shane puts his arms around him.

“I’m glad, too. Your family is great and I adore them.”

“Told you so.” Ryan yawns and puts his face in the crook of Shane’s neck. “Worrywart.”

“Shush you. Go to sleep.” Shane grins at the ceiling and shivers as a kiss is pressed against his neck.

“M’kay. Goodnight. Love you.”

“Love you too.” Shane feels his eyes grow heavy and yawns. Tomorrow he has to step up his game, because Mark, Isabella, Jake and Ryan are going to play basketball and Steve told him that he will be in on it so Shane has to join as well to “balance the teams”. He’s gonna be shit at it, but he somehow knows that it won’t matter.

What matters is that they have fun. And Shane can’t remember when he last had this much fun.


End file.
